The Summer After
by abbsparagus
Summary: When Juvia is sent to live with her cousin Jellal, his wife Erza, and their child Rosemary under certain circumstances for the summer, she immediately gets pulled into the mystery behind the kids in the neighborhood and their past. Filled with witty humor, a beautiful boy living down the street, and a few unsolved mysteries, can Juvia survive the summer? High School (?) AU
1. 1 stolen earbuds

My type of paradise wasn't sitting on the beach with the sand sliding through my fingers or the waves pecking at my pale pink painted toes. It wasn't sitting at the top of Splash Mountain at Disney World with a Mickey hat making my head it's home. It wasn't going to the Dallas Mall just to buy something from every store, which would cost a fortune.

My type of paradise is sitting at home with a large Mcdonald's fry in my lap, watching a movie I've seen a copious amount of times. I was just a normal kid before the incident; a kid who'd eat ice cream for dinner and regret it later, but still go back for seconds. I was innocent and kind, a kid who wasn't left scarred from past experiences

My type of paradise is a reverse in time, who I can go back without thinking twice.

=-=-=-=

The train ride was bareible. There was a guy a few seats down, who I named Phil, that was staring me down the entire ride and made me feel uncomfortable. Then some lady, who's name was Nancy, started talking him down and giving him what he wanted. She would say seductive things to make him distracted. There was a gold wedding ring on his left hand. I'm glad he didn't try to talk to me, because my prepubescent attitude might have made him happy. I could tell he wanted to, but the headphones I stole from some guy in Dallas made him think I was too preoccupied with my own mind. I was, in a way, because waiting for the train to get into the station was taking too long, and I'd already spent my small amount of cash on food, but I was hungry again.

"Magnolia Station." a deep, rough sounding voice pounded through the intercom. I took a deep breath and heaved myself from the comfortable position I'd been in since I had first got onto the train. Then I quickly made my way to the nearest exit and got a nice hit of fresh air. It'd been so cramped on the train, and luckily Phil took the other direction.

After getting my small duffle bag, I tried to find Jellal, my twenty-five year old cousin who decided to take me in after the incident. He was tall and had blue blue, like mine, and a red tattoo on his face. He told me he'd wear aviators and a cat t-shirt so that it would be easier to find him. I told him I'd wear a black college sweatshirt in June so that it would be easy for him to find me. I instantly regretted that idea, however, as it was smouldering hot underneath the hoodie, and I didn't want him to not find me. My pattern-less duffle bag wasn't heavy, either, as it only contained a few key items, like clothes and an extra pair of shoes. I just didn't feel like carrying it.

After I stood in one spot, jumping up and down to try to peer over the crowd in hopes of finding a feline-decorated shirt and blue hair, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I whipped around, my self-defense instincts kicking in. Luckily, it was just Jellal, his blue hair in a backwards black baseball cap, and his shirt covered in small cats and unicorns. "Jellal, I thought you forgot!" I engulfed him into a hug, dropping my bag at our feet and wrapping my arms around him.

"Why would I ever forget about you Juvia?" Jellal chuckled.

My embrace tightened. "Because everyone else did."

I hadn't been to Magnolia since I was eight years old. Jellal and I's grandmother, Grandma Webber as everyone called her, lived in Magnolia. Even though Jellal was eight years older than me, he was basically my brother. He treated me as if we were the same age, told me of his teenage problems and high school troubles, taught me gambling games with his friends. We would bet with different colored jelly beans or gummy bears, since none of us would have actual money. Then Grandma Webber died, and we never saw each other again. It was as if she was the only reason our family ever saw each other. Now Jellal was married, had a small toddler named Rosemary, and lived in the same neighborhood Grandma Webber had lived in. It was as if everything had changed, but stayed the same at the same time.

His house was a two-story suburban house with blue paneling and white accents. It was cute, and I felt honored to be able to stay here for the summer. His wife, whom's name was Erza Scarlet, stood in the driveway wearing her workout clothes. I assumed that she was waiting on Jellal to get back before going to the gym, so that she could meet me and get me settled. She had gorgeous red hair that was put into a neat ponytail, and a physique that could match no one. Jellal immediately got out of the vehicle and hugged her, and kissed her forehead. I decided to sit and watch their interactions. I'd never met Erza before, and I didn't know how she would react to my teenage sarcasm bullshit. How did I know that she was a safe person?

I finally rolled my eyes and thought _You know what? Fuck it._ and climbed out of the car with my bag in my hand. I heard her laugh and go "Don't me put you in a headlock, Jellie." She was obviously joking, but I wasn't too sure. Based on her appearance, I have a feeling that she'd probably put Jellal in a headlock once or twice before. "And you must be Juvia. I'm Erza, Jellal's wife. But you probably already knew that…" I could then tell that she wasn't an immediate threat, as her ability to go into an awkward conversation almost seemed like her greatest talent. "Well, I must be going. The gym awaits.." She gave Jellal a quick peck before taking the keys and escaping the driveway and out awkward conversation.

"She really is something, isn't she?" I said with sarcasm literally dripping from my metaphorical fangs.

"She's not good with first impressions. Give her a few days and she'll warm up to you."

I let out a chuckle. "If you say so."

Jellal set me up in my room, which was on the second floor and had a bathroom ensuite. I was thankful for this, as then I could be as private as possible and not accidentally hog the bathroom. Rosemary's bedroom was downstairs with Jellal and Erza's, and they shared a bathroom. It made sense, since they probably don't want Rosemary hurting herself on the stairs coming down, and potty-training would be much easier if the trio all shared a bathroom. My walls were painted cerulean, because Jellal remembered that I loved the color blue. The bedspread was solid black, so what basically everything else in the room. It was as if black was a theme they chose to follow with the rest of the furniture they bought at ikea. The bed was a queen sized and was shoved in the far left corner, next to the window with black curtains. Then there was a desk, most likely freshly built by Jellal, and a simple black spinny chair. There was an empty bookshelf, and that was it. I nearly wanted to cry, since they did all this stuff for me.

I set the stolen white headphones on the shelf, as the first piece of me left in the home. I unpacked my small amount of clothes into the walk-in closet, and placed my pair of sandals next to the bed. This was _my_ room, and it felt really nice. I sat on the bed and looked at the beat-up high tops on my feet. I was in need of new ones; I had owned them since freshman year of high school. I took off the Blue Pegasus University hoodie I'd gotten from a Goodwill a few months back and straitened the purple and green tye-dyed shirt I was wearing underneath to look decent. I took the curly blue mass of my hair and pulled it into a messy bun, the layed on the bed. It was soft, almost like I was on a cloud floating through the night sky.

My peaceful train of thought was interrupted the sound of the doorbell ringing. I sat back up, but made no move to see who could be at the door. Then I was forced to see who could possibly be at the door, because Jellal shouted my name at the foot of the stairs. I'd only been in Magnolia for .25 seconds; who would want my presence already? I slowly made my way downstairs in hopes of getting a peak at the doorway to see who it could be; what they look like, I mean. It was two boys, one shirtless and in cargo shorts and Nike's, the other with a scarf around his neck and a tanktop and shorts. One had raven hair, the other had pink. "Gray, you ice-freak, you lost your shirt again!" the pinkette shouted to the shirtless one, who went "ugh _again?!_ " What did he mean _again_?

"Natsu, Gray, you guys stop fighting for like five seconds and let me introduce you to my cousin Juvia. She got in town like two hours ago from Hargeon, and I don't want her spending the summer cooped up in her room." Jellal basically pleaded the two teens, who nodded in unison. There goes my plans of spending the entire summer watching Netflix on Jellal's computer when he wasn't using it and sleeping in. I got to the bottom of the stairs, fear looming in the back of my mind.

"Hey, I'm Gray." the shirtless, raven haired boy held out his hand for me to shake it. The pair were both very muscular, probably both on sports teams during the school year. His voice was soothing, after hearing Phil cheat on his wife on the train, and Nancy feeding him inhumane thoughts just a seat over, his voice was what I needed. "And this pyro is Natsu." Gray pointed to the pinkette with the scarf, who was twiddling his thumbs away at a phone. Natsu put his phone in his pocket and shook my hand lamely.

"Gray, is she going to come to meet the others? They're waiting, and you know Lucy's the impatient type." Natsu then asked Gray, who found his orange tee and slipped it back on. Gray looked to me for the answer, and my first thought was no. Then his eyes, oh his _eyes_ , told me to nod in agreement and look to Jellal, who would give the final verdict. Jellal gave a smile.

"Yeah, Jubs, you can go. Let me give you one thing, though." Jellal disappeared to the kitchen and emerged back with a small Iphone 4s, an old model that still had some capability of working. "I want to make sure you can communicate with me, just in case of an emergency or something."

"You're giving me a phone?" I inquired, holding the device in my hands.

"Yep, now go have fun and make friends! Have an adventure!" At that, I rolled my eyes, followed Gray and Natsu out of the house and shut the door behind me.

There were a small group of people waiting underneath this big tree. The neighborhood was filled with cal-de-sacs, all surrounding an elementary school, and all connected with a path for people to walk their dogs or take leisurely strolls. Natsu and Gray led me to the small group, which consisted of two girls, a blonde and a bluenette, another with long brunette hair, and a ginger boy with glasses. The bluenette looked up from the book in her lap and gave me a smile. "You're new! I'm Levy McGarden."

"I'm Juvia." I was never good at first impressions, but luckily Levy introduced me to everyone fairly quickly. The blonde's name was Lucy Heartfilia, and her and Levy live on the saem street and both work part-time at the local bookstore on weekdays. The redhead's name was Leo, though he prefered to be called Loke, since it was his middle name and it sounded better. The brunette's name was Cana Alberona, and she had a slight drinking problem, though she tried to keep it under the radar, as her dad basically took care of all of them. He was a teacher and had the summer off, while everyone else's parents were busy working. It was a lot to take in at once, but I figured I could manage for the day.

Lucy let out a long sigh. "I'm bored of sitting under this tree doing nothing." She was dressed in a pink muscle tank with her black sports bra showing and a pair of nike shorts. Levy stayed silent; she was reading what seemed to be an extremely good book. She wore a simple orange tee and jean shorts, her blue hair daintily put into a ponytail with an orange ribbon. Cana let out a groan. She wore high-waisted black jean shorts, a swimsuit top, and an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt with some sandals. Her style was definitely my favorite, although I would never dare to say that outloud.

We had resorted to having small talk under the big tree, lazily laying on the dry grass and playing on our phones. Cana had clearly had enough.

"Lucy, I can't agree with you _more_. Let's play A&D."

"Man, Cana, we haven't played that since-"

" _I was there, Loke, I remember!_ " She snapped, flashing a face of anger for a second, then back to her natural state. "Plus, I think Juvia will like it. Call it our 'initiation' or some shit." Cana stood and picked up her furry, blue purse. The others followed suit; they rose the from dry summer ground and gathered their belongings.

"What's _A &D_?" I inquired, fear evident in my voice.

"I'll explain once we get to my house to gather the supplies." Were they about to slaughter me? If I weren't being honest, I would say that being terrified isn't on my agenda at the moment, and I wasn't scared for whatever the crew had in store for me. It felt weird walking the same streets I used to with Jellal when I was just a kid. I stayed near the back of the group to watch their mannerisms, the small things they did when they thought nobody was paying attention. One of the major obvious ones was that Gray seemed to 'accidentally' take of his clothes at random points of time, as to which seemed normal to the group. Natsu would take out a lighter and flick it on and off; Cana would play with a deck of cards as she walked; Lucy couldn't keep her hands out of her hair; Loke would fixing his shirt every two seconds; and Levy twiddled a bookmark between her fingers. They weren't really small things, but they caught my attention.

Once we got to Cana's house, we all waited patiently for her to run in and run back out with an old converse shoebox. She emptied the contents onto the sidewalk, and that's when it clicked. They weren't going to torture me. We were just going to play a twisted game of cops and robbers. Geez, I really need to stop overthinking sometimes.

As Cana explained the game of A&D, (it's really angels and demons, but even the group admitted that the name was too cringeworthy to stick, so shortening would have to do) it finally made sense. On the ground laid eight bandanas, all different colors, each color having two matching socks that were filled with flour. One person is going to wear their bandana on their head, the demon, and he's trying to convert the angels, or the people with their bandanas on their wrists, into demons. He has to try to hit the angels on the back. Once an angel is hit on the back, they must go back to the safe area and wait one minute before putting their bandana on their head, thus becoming a demon. To avoid such demon attacks, angels can throw the socks as weapons. If a demon is hit with a sock, then they must go to the safe area and wait one minute. Last person alive wins.

The game almost sounded like a video game, a convoluted version of cops and robbers created by a pack of fun-hungry bored teens. "Can I be blue?" I spoke up, looking at the colored bandana with a sense of want lingering in my mind.

Cana smiled and tossed me the blue colored bandana and socks. The socks were surprisingly light, considering how packed of flour they were. Everyone called their individual colors: Gray had violet, Natsu had red, Levy had green, Lucy had pink, Loke had orange, and Cana took yellow. "Who wants to be the demon first?" Cana asked the group. Loke raised his hand, his bandana already tightly wrapped around his head.

"I'll do it, for a kiss." Loke's smile was infectious, but his pervy attitude seemed to gross out the group, and I was glad I wasn't the only one.

"God, Loke, can you _not_ be a fuckboy in front of our new friend today?" Cana laughed as she led us through the neighborhood to the elementary school that the neighborhood was basically built around. The field was basically empty, because it was 95 degrees outside and no dumb fuck would let their kid melt on a hot summer day like this. They apparently thought it would be a great idea. Luckily all of them seemed to have been smart enough to bring water, as I wasn't informed. When Gray caught me staring at his water, he held it up. I took it wordlessly and waterfalled a few sips. I was grateful that the group treasured hydration.

Loke went a stood next to the basketball hoops with a phone as a timer. He had to wait two minutes before being let loose to turn us. I took in my surroundings. I _really_ wanted this group to like me, and I knew I had to achieve that by winning my first game. It was going to be difficult, yes, but if I stuck next to the seemingly strongest of the group, Gray, then _maybe_ I had a chance.

There was a tree house on the other side of the field, next to the tennis courts. It would be a long shot, though, as I don't know my running ability, and I don't know if I'd be able to escape the treehouse if I were to be trapped by Loke. There was a giant jungle gym off to the right of the basketball hoops that seemed promising, full of obstacles for Loke to get stuck on. Yet, I don't know his speed or agility,and either way I'm, quite literally, running into this blind. There was a stretch of some trees with a plaque in front of them, probably to recognize an old principal or something, which Cana said was 'out of bounds', because hiding in trees was unfair to the few who didn't have climbing trees in their daily routine.

Loke yelled for us to run, and he covered his eyes with his hands, as an honorary movement to show that he wasn't going to watch where someone was going and get them that way. My plan immediately backfired as Gray disappeared from my sight, so I followed Levy to the treehouse; _big mistake_.

I ran faster than I expected, and managed to get to the treehouse and protect Levy and I safely behind the barriers of the wall. We sat with our backs against the wall, in the opposite direction as Loke. He was behind us, surely, with his eyes shut, and waiting for his phone timer to go off. Levy and I were radio silent, the only sound being the thuds of our heartbeats, and the rustling of the leaves in the tree above us. Three minutes passed, and we heard no battlecry. There was no fallen soldier, and Levy and I started to become worried. "Do you think he's messing with Lucy and Natsu over in the jungle gym?" I asked Levy in a low whisper.

She shook her head no. "We'd be hearing them shout curses of war. I hear nothing." Levy nervously messed with the green banadana around her wrist. I desperately wanted to look out to the field, just to see if he was at least okay.

Levy and I shakily lifted our heads above the railing toward the field. "He's not out there, but it makes no sense." I whispered to Levy. I hastley moved my eyes around the park hopes of finding Loke away from the treehouse, but no luck. Then we heard it; the squeakiness of the wooden floorboards of the treehouse. "Was that you, Levy?" I asked her, hoping she'll say that she was just positioning her body to a more comfortable state.

"Juvia-"

" _Run!_ " I flip my body around to see Loke with a hand to Levy's back, her eyes wide with terror. I look up and see Gray jump from the tree to the ground. I hop the railing of the treehouse and do a summersault to the ground, surprisingly landing with ease and no scratch. Gray launches one of his socks towards Loke, and it hits him square in the chest. His aim was impressive; I could see him being a pitcher in baseball, with Loke as the bat. "Don't stop running!" Gray encouraged as we fled the scene as if it was World War III, Battle of Fort TreeHouse.

We bolted across the field to the jungle gym, where Lucy, Cana, and Natsu were nowhere in sight. That made us uneasy, so we climbed to the top of the monkey bars and let our feet dangle. Gray's breathing was heavy and loud and out of breath. "Loke got Cana almost immediately. It was gruesome to watch. She was hiding in the t-buildings, and he almost _sensed_ her presence. She ratted out our locations to him in the hopes of him abandoning her for someone else, but it didn't work. She'd already threw her socks and missed, and they were behind him. When she went to run, he touched her back, turning her."

"So you were hiding with us in the treehouse?'

"Not exactly," Gray started, " I initially went to the tennis courts hoping to sneak attack him, but then I saw you and Levy get into the treehouse to hide. SO, I climbed the tree to, I don't know, protect you guys in some way? It makes way more sense in my head, trust me." I couldn't help but smile at his gesture. I looked down at our dangling feet; we were quite a few feet above the ground. I remember in third grade, a girl was chasing another, and the girl being chased fell off of the monkey bars and broke her wrist. I watched in awe, not because broken bones are cool or anything, but because of how it happened. How _dare_ that girl chase her until she broke her wrist?

His shoes were worn, and had ripping at the toe. My guess was that he had a new pair at home, but prefered to wear his ripping ones, because they're more comfortable. "Do you see Loke or Cana or Levy anywhere? We need to keep our eyes on them, since you're down a sock."

"I see Cana's back, and she _might_ be chasing Lucy-"

There was a battlecry- a yell so incredibly loud that neighbors might call the police in fear of a gunshot or something. We look over to the field, where Natsu fell to his knees in anger. " _LUCY!_ " Lucy stood before him, a pink bandana loosely hanging from her neck.

"I have to do this Natsu, so that we can be a team again." Lucy sounded reassuring to him, trying to convert him to the dark side.

Natsu stood, his hair covering his eyes. "Who got you out?" he growled.

Lucy let out a sigh of frustration. "Loke-"

"Loke's dead to me." He opened his hands, and between his fingers were four socks, two in each hand, all different colors. He lifted his head, just to discover that he was surrounded by all four demons: Lucy, Levy, Cana, and Loke. All at once, he threw all four socks at each individual person, taking all of them out.

Gray let out a small laugh. "Natsu can overdo it sometimes."

"No kidding." I looked down at our feet again, since we now had the time. "So what happens when we fall?" I questioned, then looked back up to meet his eyes. He shrugged and smiled.

"Then we fall."

"We'll also risk being found, or breaking our wrists-"

"Why our wrists? We could break our ankles or thumbs."

"Way to ruin the moment, Gray"

We both started to chuckle at our banter, until something got caught in our ears. There was arguing by the stretch of trees dedicated to some dude I didn't know. Gray slowly made his way down from the monkeybars, motioning for me to follow him. He lead me to Cana, Loke, and Levy, who were surrounding Lucy, next to a dumbfounded Natsu, and a girl I hadn't been introduced to yet. She had short white hair and big blue eyes, and wore a blue crop top and some shorts. Natsu's voice was low and steady, probably the calmest-sounding I'd heard it. "Lisanna, what are you doing here?"

"I live here, jackass." She rolled her eyes deeply and smacked her gum as loud as possible.

"No, Lis- what are you doing _here_ , at this park?" Natsu had become aggravated with her being here, I could tell.

"I thought we were all friends, right?"

"Lisanna, _friends_ don't leave each others' side at a time of need. _"_

"You knew I had no choice-" Natsu lifted his hands in frustration, as a sign of him backing off.

"You left, Lis. You _left_."

The group had started to back away, hoping that this conversation, one I'd yet to understand, was over. Natsu tightened the bandana on his head. I looked at the people surrounding Gray and I, and I knew it was over. "I'll just go to Bixlow and cry, is that what you want?" Lisanna shouted over the game. Something in Natsu changed, same with Gray and Cana. Their attitudes changed from annoyance to anger.

"Are you saying that the Thunder Legion's back in town?"

She took a large gulp of the pepsi she was holding and smiled weakly. "At least they want me, accept me with open arms."

"They are only _accepting_ you because of Mira and Laxus, you realize that, right? Not because of your looks or actions, or because of pity. It's because of Mira and Laxus. Are they still going to get married? I really hope so, so that I can watch you from the back pew with tears in your eyes because your sister's leaving you alone, like you left us. So go home, Lisanna. Just _go_." Cana spoke, staying in a fearful calm state during the entire speech. There was obvious tension in the air, even if I didn't understand how Lisanna had 'left' the group, or any of the drama for the matter, I still felt it.

Wordless, Lisanna trudged home in a walk of shame matter. I watched her leave, and I wonder if this was the same way she left before, berated by Cana because of the truth, or yelled at by Natsu. There was something I didn't know, but there was a twinge in the back of my mind that knew I _needed_ to know.

"So is the game over?" Levy asked, scratching her forehead.

"There's still two left…" With that, Gray took my wrist and sent us running down the field to the treehouse, where we climbed the ladder with great speed. It was where the game began, and it's where the game will end. Gray hoisted me up into the tree, and was supposed to follow me up, so that we stay hidden from the demons. _Supposed to._ Natsu had followed up, and got Gray while he was helping me get into the tree.

I had won, not only the game, but my newfound friends' graces. It's all I really wanted, since I'm going to be stuck in Magnolia all summer with Jellal and Ezra, and their precious toddler, Rosemary, whom I've yet to meet. Gray and I walked home in silence, because after the Lisanna incident, nobody felt like talking. Even Natsu was quiet, which from what I've heard, is unusual. "So what happened before I came?" I asked Gray, who was shirtless once again with his hands in his pockets.

"Some bullshit teenage angst that's really not important right now. It's not that I don't trust you enough to tell you, it's just that you're new. You don't need to start hating someone on your first day in Magnolia, just because your new friends have a past. You'll find out in due time, anyway, because I feel like it's going to come back and bite us in the ass sooner or later."

"But what does it mean, Gray?"

"In due time, trust me." And I did, because he protected me in a game that, in the end, meant nothing but a title, and saying that I won. Gray dropped me off at Jellal's house, and descended down the street to his own. I still had so many questions, but all were still unanswered. It might take the entire summer to answer all, and that's a risk I'm willing to take.

Now other than my clothes and room, all I owned was a few new acquaintances who, after only a few short hours, referred to me as their friend, a curiosity larger than the one I had as a child, an old Iphone, and a pair of stolen headphones. I wanted to know every secret that group was keeping, but if I trust Gray, I will _in due time._ Why is he such a cryptic fuck?


	2. 2 two truths

_Sometimes I wish time would just stop and let me bend down to smell the roses and hear the birds sing from high above. I wish life would pause, so that I could be in a fun moment for more than a second. I wish, that for once, life wouldn't go too fast, because leaving memories behind is worse than not living them at all._

The town of Magnolia seemed tight-knit, as if everyone had known each other their entire lives. It was quite large, yes, but even walking down the street you'll hear a 'hello' or 'how are the kids?' from someone you've talked to maybe once. Jellal thought it would be a great idea to go to brunch the following day, after the over-intense game of A&D, to let me see the town of Magnolia and explore. Jellal treated Erza, Rosemary, his almost too cute toddler, and I to some cafe I'd never heard of.

The name of the cafe was _Celestials and Coffee_ as it was interconnected to the planetarium and across the street from an _Earthbound_ , you know the place where you can easily find things like tarot cards, aromatherapy items, and a bohemian style of clothing. The cafe was themed after constellations, as they were painted in various colors all over the walls and ceiling, and the items on the menu had names after stars, astrology, and planets. Rosemary was the cutest toddler I'd ever had the chance to lay my eyes on, as she had short red tufts of hair in pigtails and blue bows, and wore pink polka dot overalls. She would giggle at every word I said, even if it wasn't meant to be humorous.

Jellal, Erza, Rosemary and I ordered our food, Erza ordered for Rosemary, for they luckily had a kids' menu, and sat at a table next to a large window. I ordered the _Leo_ , which was a simple latte with a doubleshot of espresso and cinnamon, for a kick, as based on the little snippet on the menu, ' _Leos tend to be dignified and strong, and like to get things done'._ In other words, it's the drink a student gets when about to pull an all-nighter. Violins played in the background, and incense was being burned in the background. It was a quiet sanctuary, probably the most quiet place I've been since coming to Magnolia.

Jellal ordered the _Orion's Belt,_ which was a plate of three waffles, all different flavors, and each had different toppings. It was basically neopolitan, but Jellal went technical and knew all of the stars' names in the Orion's Belt constellation, but even I knew they were listed on the menu. Erza ordered the _Nebula Strawberry Cake_ , which I thought was strange for a breakfast-lunch option, but I went with it, and Erza ordered Rosemary a simple short stack of chocolate chip pancakes, generously covered in maple syrup and whipped cream. I didn't order any food, as I wasn't comfortable eating in front of them yet, but I got _The Leo_ as a sort of compromise, since it was cheap and will put something in my stomach.

If I was being any short of honest, I would say that I had slept amazingly last night. The queen-sized bed was extremely comfortable, don't get me wrong, but I hated the idea of sleeping somewhere I hadn't slept before. The room felt like it was spinning around me, and the blanket made my legs sweat because it was too hot outside. I opened my window at one point to let the breeze in, but then a bug flew in, so I had to shut the window to prevent more from coming inside, and unfortunately cut the bug's life span short. To make the pain of killing an innocent life, I flushed him down the toilet and sang the saddest song I could think of at three AM: _In The Arms of an Angel_ by Sarah McLachlan. My sleep deprived eyes even shed a tear for the insect I brutally smashed with a sandal.

Jellal and Erza sat in front of Rosemary and I at a booth next to a window. Erza made sure I sat on the outside, because Rosemary was a runner, and she didn't want her to run from the booth. I smiled at that, mostly because Erza scared me sometimes and I wanted her to be pleased. "So how are you liking Magnolia so far?" Erza asked me, a smile evident on her face. I gave a grin back.

"It's great so far. Everyone is so welcoming to Juvia and I really like that. It makes me feel comfortable here." When I'm nervous or overly excited, I tend to speak about myself in the third person, even if I'd already mentioned myself in first person at the beginning of my statements. In this case, I was nervous, because I wasn't the greatest of liars, and my sleep deprivation was taking effect on me. I cautiously pushed a piece of blue hair behind my ear, took a sip of my coffee, and took in the people around me.

There was a student in the back corner with clunky headphones, a laptop, and a notebook. He was slumped over, his back arched, typing urgently on the laptop keyboard. To humor myself, I guessed that he was hacking into the Fiore Database and transferring thousands of dollars into his bank account under an anonymous name. There was a couple in a booth. It looked like it was their first date, as they both had their elbows on the table, and they both had lattes in their hands with smiles on their faces. Both had blushed cheeks, and were talking slowly; enticingly. Then there was a pair of friends, one girl and one boy, manning one register. The boy seemed to do all of the talking, then repeated the order to the girl, who punched it into the cash register and gave change back. I then realized that the boy was the red-headed fuckboy I'd hung out with the day before: _Loke_.

Now don't get me wrong, I liked Loke. In fact, I didn't hate anyone that I was with yesterday. They made me laugh, and got my adrenaline going. They interested me in a mystery I feel that I'm destined to solve, considering the Lisanna argument that I've yet to understand. Loke, though, on a personal level, made my brain hurt. He seems like such an ass-kisser, the type of guy that would do anything to get into a girl's pants, and then not talk to her ever again; and that bothered me. He reminded me of a person I used to know, and someone I wish to forget. But watching him help his fellow cashier made me rethink how to see him. He wasn't he-who-shall-not-be-named from Hargeon, he was Loke from Magnolia. Every time the two finished an order, Loke would shout out something encouraging to her, like "You're doing it, Aries!" or "I believe in you!". They would occasionally give each other high-fives or fistpumps, and just laugh at each other's sarcastic comments. Watching the pair made me think of how I should treat others, because they treat each other so nicely.

He caught my wandering eye and sent a friendly wave, which I returned with a wave and a small smile before turning back to the three family members, who were currently stuffing their faces with food. Rosemary was making a mess of the pancakes in front of her, and I couldn't help but laugh. Whipped cream and syrup covered her face, and a smile spread across her cheeks. It was like she was thinking : _life is good and so are these pancakes, nom._ I wished I could see life that that. Rosemary hasn't experienced so many things, like highschool, or her first kiss. Sometimes I don't she's experienced her first paragraph spoken with proper grammar. She's the most innocent, the purest being to exist, and it makes me jealous. Life was easy as a child. It sucks at seventeen.

When we got back to the house, all except I with full stomachs, Jellal had to go to work, and Erza went to take Rosemary to her grandparents' for the weekend. I was home alone until Jellal got off of work, which would be around nine. It felt nice having peace for once. It was about one in the afternoon, so I decided to go upstairs and take a nap. Yet, as on routine, as soon as I slipped on the Blue Pegasus University hoodie and laid my head onto the pillow, there were three loud knocks at the door. I let out a grunt of annoyance, pull myself out of bed, slip on my hightops, and grab my phone before trudging down the stairs and ripping the door open to see Cana, Natsu, and Gray.

"What's got _your_ panties in a twist?" Cana asked in a chuckle. Today she was wearing a simple green tee and athletic shorts with some Adidas sandals.

"I think we woke her from a nap." Gray replied. He was shirtless, again, and wore black jeans and vans. Natsu let out a laugh.

"Gray, you lost your shirt again!" Gray looked down at his chest, just to find out that it was bare, and then immediately tried to cover himself up. He scratched his head.

"Did I drop it on the way here?" He turned around toward the street, clearly trying to rethink his steps, thinking of where he would have lost his shirt.

"How do you drop a shirt you were _wearing_?" I inquired, causing Cana and Natsu to laugh even harder at Gray. He became flustered, and like his shirt, he couldn't find his words to speak.

"I- uh, um -" Cana and Natsu doubled over in chuckles and looked like dying seals, as their laughter had gone silent, leaving them to heave out laughs with no noise and go out of breath. I raised a hand to my mouth to giggle into and try to hide my growing smile. "I'm going to get one from my house really quick," and with that, he bolted down the street ot his house.

"Ah, man! I'm never going to let that sripper live that down!" NAtsu exclaimed, as he and Cana invited themselves into Jellal's house like they lived there.

"Stripper?"

"Gray has a habit of accidentally taking off articles of clothing without realizing it. He did it a lot as a kid, and has gotten more tame with it since, but I guess sometimes he'll rip off his shirt mid-conversation and drop it somewhere without thinking." Cana explained, now slouched onto Jellal's couch with her shoes kicked off. Natsu was in the kitchen, making himself comfortable in the pantry fill with snacks meant for Jellal, Erza, and I.

"So what are you doing here?" I asked, not wanting them to leave, but also not wanting them to think I hated them or something. I actually quite liked the group, because they made me feel at home with them, even if I'd only known them for a day. Yesterday, the game of A&D was actually fun, and way more intense than it needed to be. For the group, the game was life or death, and alliances were easily broken once somebody was converted to the other side. I guess the extremity of the game is what made it so enjoyable, as it got my adrenaline pumping and tested these new friendships I'd yet to make.

"We're bored. Everyone has jobs and it makes life so terrible…" Cana groaned, having pulled out a deck of cards from her purse and started to shuffle them mindlessly. The excuse made sense, since I saw Loke working at _Celestials and Coffee_ just an hour ago.

"So do you guys want to play a board game or cards or something then?" I throw out the suggestion just as Gray waltzed in with a Rolling Stones tee on with his ripped black jeans. Natsu walks from the kitchen with a box of cheez-its and a mouthful of food.

Natsu gave a face of disapproval. "We did that two days ago," he says through his chewing.

"Natsu learn some fucking manners," Cana scolded, kicking him in the side while she lounged on the sofa. She continued to shuffle the deck of cards in her hands before carefully putting them back into the box and shoving the box back into her purse. "What about…" a smile spilled across her face. "Two truths and one lie."

Now _that_ is a game I could get into. I don't really know any of them, how they would act in certain situations and what they've lived through. They know each other like the backs of their hands, facts inscribed in the sides of their brains that they will never forget. They know each other's pasts, but they don't know mine. My past is a sucky part of my life that I never want to live through again, and I do not want them to even know a fiber of what happened in Hargeon, even if my life depended on it. I am alive. I am still a living human being. _I still matter._ I know I'm a big fat hypocrite, because my curiosity is going to get the best of me, but they will know nothing except for how I seem to act around them. Until I leave Magnolia, I will live a facade of a Juvia that never existed, and no one will be the wiser.

"Don't we need whiskey for that?" Gray inquired, taking a seat on the hardwood floors next to me.

"Jellal and Erza don't drink… We could just splash water at each other instead of taking shots?"

That was how we ended up in the master bathroom and a squirt gun I found in Jellal's closet, which I mentally noted to ask about later. Nastu, Gray, and I stood in the bathtub as Cana aimed the squirt gun towards us. "Guess wrong, you get squirted, okay?" She then cleared her through and gave us a sinister look. "Truth one: When I was five I busted my eyebrow on a window pane and had to get eight stitches, and the only reason you can't see the scar is because I fill in my eyebrows." Cana started off _strong_ with a potentially fake confession that included insecurity. We're _screwed_. "Truth two: When we were fourteen, Loke and I made out once on New Years Eve and promised not to speak of it until one of us turned seventeen. I turned seventeen in Febuary and I've been waiting for this moment to talk about it. Last truth: Alcohol doesn't seem to affect me like it should."

 _Her and Loke?_ I honestly couldn't see it, but a part of me wished it was true. I didn't know her all that well, so taking a guess was equivalent to walking into a math test without remembering the formulas. "It has to be truth two… Mostly because I _don't_ want it to be true." Gray shouted almost as soon as she had stopped talking.

"I agree. It's weird to think about." Natsu gave a face of disgust and shaked his head, most likely to get the image out of his head.

"What about you, Juvs?"

In a moment of panic, I blurted out "Truth one!"

Cana let out a sinister laugh as she loaded the squirt gun in the sink. "Get ready boys, because New Girl knows more about me than the two of you." With a leap I jumped from between Natsu and Gray to avoid being soaked by Cana, who shot them generously with the squirt gun. The pair stood stunned in the bathtub, letting the initial shock of the water get past before slowly getting out and shaking the water onto Cana. "Ew, guys!"

"So you and the neighborhood fuckboy, huh? Honestly never saw it coming." Natsu shrugged it off as if it was nothing.

"I feel like I should've known about this. Loke writes down the names of every girl he's kissed since freshman year, so your name should have been on the list."

"It's called blackmail, sweetheart. Now who's next?" Nastu quickly snatched the squirt gun from her hands.

"Get in the tub." Cana, Gray, and I went back to the tub for the second time, our hearts quickening in pace, mostly because Natsu was the least predicting person I've met in all my years of living. All that I knew about him was that he was pretty dumb and childish but in a good way. "Truth one: I didn't learn how to read until the third grade when Gildarts taught me." On a sad note, I wished that that truth was a lie, because Gildarts isn't his dad, which means that Cana's dad taught him how to read. "Truth two: I work out three times a week, which is how I got these _guns_." He flexed his arms like Hercules and flashed a shiny white smile. "Truth three… uh I didn't think this far ahead…" He stared up at the ceiling in thought.

"Just say something already, Flame Princess!" Gray shouted impatiently, probably not wanting to get soaked _again_.

Natsu spoke up hesitantly. "Well when I hang out with Lucy I get this weird feeling in my stomach, like I'm going to throw up or something, but it's a good feeling, and when she laughs I want to laugh too because her laugh makes my brain fuzzy in a good way, and she always says how ugly she is but she's not and when I tell her that she just doesn't get it so I hug her and I get the feeling in my stomach again and I _don't understand!"_

That was the most innocent, most precious, valuable run-on sentence I've ever heard. Cana elbowed me and smiled, as if she knew something I didn't. "Natsu… That feeling in your stomach means that you like her." Cana tried to explain, stepping out of the bathtub and touching his arm reassuringly. Natsu was slowly starting to break down into a confused toddler, and needed his metaphorical older sister.

"Well _of course_ I like her, she's my best friend!"

"No, Natsu, _like_ like her, like more than a best friend."

Natsu's onyx eyes widened, as he finally understood the butterflies in his stomach that he'd had for Merlin knows how long. "Holy _shit_. I have a-" he shuddered for a second - " _crush_ on Lucy!" He slowly descended from the bathroom wall to the floor with a face of horror. " _What do I do?!"_

Gray exited the bathtub. "What?"

"I've only ever asked out one girl, and look at where that got us-" I was tempted to ask, but I mentally noted to not say anything, for it wasn't my business and it wasn't the time to do so.

"So don't ask her out. Try to flirt until she likes you back and makes it obvious, then slowly become boyfriend and girlfriend." Cana suddenly comes up with on the spot, giving an approving nod. He tilts his head in confusion.

"Just be yourself, we'll handle it, trust us." Gray adds, making sure to _not_ have Natsu more perplexed than he already was. Cana gave him the _we will?_ Look, but he shot back the _no shit sherlock_ face. "Now who's next?"

Cana and Natsu had to go home at five, because Natsu's family was having a special dinner for I don't know what, and Cana hadn't seen her dad since yesterday, as she left the house before he woke up. The way Cana talks of her father tugs at my heartstrings, simply because I shouldn't be jealous of the bond her and her dad have. My dad had a good run, and lived a good life, and I should be thankful for what he gave me while he could. Gray was still here, playing on his phone and trying to spark up a conversation. "Why are you still here? Not that I mind or anything, I am just curious."

"My brother, Lyon, is coming back from Lamia Scale University today for the summer break, and I want to see as less of him as possible." He answered simply, maneuvering his hands and face with the game on his phone, whatever it was.

"Why is that a bad thing?"

Gray shrugged. "He's just a jackass sometimes. Like I can deal with him, but I choose not to." At that moment I decided to study Gray. When he spoke of his brother, his face froze, as if he had to think about his choice of words. His eyebrows scrunched together in frustration, either from the game or from thinking of his brother Lyon. His face was of pure concern.

"Well do you want to watch a movie or something?" I offer, because I couldn't sit with this awkward silence much longer. I'd be lying if I said that having Gray sit here with me didn't make my stomach churn with uncertainness and possibility. Every grin or chuckle he did made my mind turn to mush, and I had no idea what it meant. I could be allergic to Gray Fullbuster , and I might just need to take an allergy pill.

"Nah, my brother's about to pick me up. He wants to go explore Magnolia and-" he lifted his fingers in air quotes "- 'see how it's changed since he's been gone'. God, I swear he's a self-absorbed asshole sometimes."

I gave a sympathetic shrug. Growing up I never had any siblings, so to experience this type of annoyance I had to read crappy YA novels in my tween years so that I could at the least understand the annoyance. "But has it changed? I mean I've only been here a day in a half, so…" That's a lie. I used to come to Magnolia a lot for family gatherings before Grandma Webber died and this side of the family started arguing before banning my mom and I from Magnolia. That doesn't matter anymore, though. I'm back with Jellal, finishing the cycle.

"Not really, if anything it got better. He left, which was the best part." He finished with a smile before the doorbell rang, meaning that his brother Lyon was standing outside, waiting for Gray. "It seems this is where I take my leave." He stood from the couch and walked towards the door, as if he was in a hurry. I followed, so that I could lock the door properly once he left. Lyon stood tall, bright white hair standing up straight with some tufts going many ways. His eyes were angular, which made me think of him as an angry type of person.

"Finally, Gray, we gotta- Who are _you_?" His eyes lock to mine, and my stomach drops. In my head, I want to curl up into a ball and hide, but my facade was built high, so I thought of a comeback instead.

"Juvia, and?"

Lyon was at a loss for words. Gray flashes a smirk my way, which makes my stomach fill with winged insects. "You seem like a bitch." Is that all he can muster? I'm almost positive he can do better than that.

"Okay, cool. Thanks for telling me unimportant opinions. Bye Gray!" I push Gray out the door and close it, leaning against the back and sliding to the floor.

"Bye Juvs!" Gray shouts from the other side, which only makes the insects in my stomach go even faster. What is this feeling I'm so foreign to?

 _I don't understand._


	3. 3 open windows

_I could never wish for happiness. Happiness is something I have to earn, something I gain from hard work. Everyone else seemed to have some, and didn't feel like sharing. I have worked hard. I want some._

When I descended down the staircase for a nice breakfast and a lounging on the couch Monday morning, I nearly shat myself. It was 10:30 in the morning, and at first glance it looked like Lisanna was sitting with her legs crossed on the couch next to a buff, mean-spirited blonde who clearly had no interest in being here. On the loveseat sat Erza and Rosemary, who both had wide smiles across their faces. My goal was to walk past them without being noticed and get to the kitchen, because my appetite at the moment waited for nobody.

It had been a few days since anybody came knocking at my door, which was slightly relieving and worrisome at the same time. Were they already tired of me? I finally got the house to myself, which wasn't as fun as I'd hoped it to be. I got to be alone, sulking around in my pajamas, eating anything I want from the pantry without the fear of judgement. It was lonely, to say the least, because now I was trapped in that group of friends' drama, personalities, and inside jokes. I didn't want to escape this particular trap, though. They made me genuinely laugh, a phenomenon that hasn't occurred since before the _incident_.

My heart raced with fear as I attempted to tiptoe out of Erza's sight to the kitchen, which was a failed mission from the start. The wooden floor that promised my safe waltz to the kitchen deceived me, as the _pitter-patter_ of my toes was evidently louder than intended. Erza locked her brown eyes with my navy ones, and gave me a short, super fake smile. "Juvia, good morning! This is Mirajane Strauss and Laxus Dreyar." I took a seat next to Erza and Rosemary, and gave a small awkward wave.

"Erza, you didn't tell me you had any relatives in town!" Mirajane exclaimed excitedly with a wide smile stretched across her face.

"She's Jellal's cousin, and she's going to be here for the summer." _or longer_. She forgot to say that I _should_ be here for the summer, but there's an extremely large possibility that I might be stuck here until I graduate in spring.

"Then she _has_ to come to the wedding! Any family of yours is a family of ours!"

"Wedding?" I ask, as I was clearly left out of the loop of what this informal meeting was about. Mirajane's electric blue eyes widened with surprise.

"Laxus and I are getting married at the end of July at Kardia Cathedral, and you've just been invited! Right Laxus?" Mira patted his leg, and he let out a bored and forced grunt.

"How sweet. I'll be sure to come." I took this time as a chance to stare at the bride and groom to-be's totally opposite and backwards personalities. Mirajane, who wore a red sundress and had her white bangs pinned back, looked totally excited for the wedding. She almost seemed impatient, like she could have it tomorrow if she wanted to. She was clearly the planner for the event, while Laxus was a completely different story. Laxus, who wore a violet button-up short-sleeved shirt with grey jeans and his blonde hair was spiked back and tossed around, seemed disinterested. I could tell he loved her, however, as he would peer over to Mira and give a small secret smile. He probably picked the flavor of the cake and the song they were going to dance to.

"So Rosemary's all good for flower girl?" Laxus spoke up, finally seeming to put a hint of interest in the matter.

Erza grew a large smile. "I'd have to walk with her, since she's only three and will probably try to eat the petals."

Laxus nodded and looked to Mira. "That's fine, right babe?"

"Absolutely!" She was probably picturing the scene now, Erza and Rosemary, mother and daughter, going down the aisle in matching outfits, smiling and throwing petals in different directions without a care in the world. I was picturing it, too. I was the flower girl for my parents' wedding, as they had me before my dad even proposed. That was a great day.

Erza set Rosemary on the ground and stood. "Anyone want coffee?"

"One, please, and a bagel with cream cheese." I said, mostly as a joke, and partly because I was starving and tired. To my surprise, Erza shouted "on it!" from the kitchen. That meant I was alone with Mirajane and Laxus until my bagel was done.

"You're going to be a senior this upcoming school year, right?" Mira asked me with a light smile. I nodded. "My little sister, Lisanna, is going to be a senior too! You should meet her, I feel like you'll like her." I didn't want to tell her that I already _have_ met Lisanna, and it was everything _but_ desired. Her sister was a complete bitch to my knowledge, but Mira was her _sister_ and most definitely saw Lisanna in a different light.

"I should." I replied with the most superficial smile I'd ever done.

"I'm sure you've met Natsu and Gray and them, they're all really good friends with Jellal. She hangs out with them when she's not with Bixlow." Did Mira _not_ know that the group basically shunned her? This was news to me. Was Lisanna ashamed to have no friends? I almost felt bad for her. Then I remembered Cana's golden speech by the stretch of trees.

 _Are they still going to be married? I really hope so, so that I can sit in the back pew with tears in yours eyes because your sister's leaving you alone, like you left us._

Lisanna had _left_ them, and in whatever language or context that word is in, it's not delightful. Lisanna chose something or someone over another, and that is an action that's hard to forgive. I would know what it's like to be unforgiving towards a person. Erza eventually came to my awkward time in need with my bagel and coffee, which I set on the coffee table. I sipped at the brew with hopes of not having to speak any longer, because I didn't have the heart to tell Mira that Lisanna didn't hang out with "Natsu and Gray and them". They shunned her before my time, new time, in Magnolia.

I was unlucky enough to be dragged to the Magnolia Mall by Levy and Lucy, who after hearing that I'd been invited to Mira and Laxus' wedding, were urgent on getting me a dress for the occasion immediately. The mall was extensive, and was a giant loop of stores surrounding a very large food court full of the only items I ever plan on buying, food. The two other girls, on the other hand, felt the need to go into dress stores and hand me items to try on that ranged from _really_ ugly or the wrong size. Levy wore a cute, orange dress with some sandals, and Lucy was in a turtleneck cropped tank and a black skater shirt with black booties.

"Why are you guys dressed so fancy for the mall? Did I miss a memo or something?"

Lucy stifled a laugh as she shoved a hideous green dress into my hands. "We have to go to work at three for the closing shift."

"Must be a really nice book store, then."

Lucy giggled and gave Levy a stare of which I didn't understand. Levy's face went the shade of the red dress she was looking at. "There may or may not be cute boys who work the late shifts with us." Levy whispered as she sifted through the racks of dresses. Lucy smiled bright at just the thought of the mystery boys who work with them.

"They're bad boys who live in the bad parts of town, but they're _such sweethearts_. I swear I can see Codename: Shadow's abs through his shirt." she beamed with her cheeks turning rosy. I thought about Natsu, and his confused mental state. It was my civic duty to get Natsu and Lucy together, and I will not let Codename: Shadow get in the way.

"Codename: Shadow?"

"We don't want to say their actual names in case we want to talk about them while they are around. I called dibs on Lnt. Blacksteel." Levy stated proudly. "Now go try those on, and we'll critically access on which is the best." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and storm out of the mall, and quickly made my way to the nearest dressing room.

Spoiler alert: all of the dresses were awful. They either didn't fit or weren't my style _at all_. I felt ugly in all of them, and honestly didn't see the point in looking for a dress. The wedding was in a month and a half, so I had about 45 days to look for something to wear. Levy and Lucy claimed that each dress looked _ravishing_ on my body type and gave off an _elegant_ aesthetic. I knew they were lying, because my body could never be _ravishing_ or _elegant_ in any type of clothing. I was my own critic, therefore my opinion is what mattered the most.

One last attempt was a dress Lucy saw in the corner of her eye as we were leaving one of the stores. It was a light blue sundress covered in pretty floral designs with spaghetti straps. She shoved it into my arms and pushed me to a random dressing room, urging for me to try it on. I agreed, mostly because my stomach would not stop grumbling and I knew that we weren't going to leave and get food until we found a dress.

It was the one.

There were rare moments where I felt _pretty._ I had gone to homecomings and my junior prom looking pretty and feeling elegant, but those dresses were made to show more of my body than intended, and the pound of make up my mom would give me dragged my face down. I looked fine then, yes, but it doesn't mean I _felt_ pretty. I couldn't help but stare at myself in all directions of the tri-fold mirror. I didn't believe that it was I staring back at myself. The dress fit my waist beautifully and gave a youthful look to my bust. I was flat, and the dress excepted that and worked around it. The dress fell to just above my knees; a perfect length. I exited the dressing room and showed it off to the girls. They squealed, as expected.

"Juvia, you're beautiful." Lucy said softly.

"Are you sure?" I tended to question compliments. In Hargeon, compliments were like being stoned. People would throw them without meaning, almost like backhanded insults. I would ignore them, because I wouldn't believe them. Only two people I left in Hargeon were aloud to give me compliments, and one of them was dead.

"Of course we're sure!" Levy responded tenderly. I decided on the train from Hargeon that my time in Magnolia would be different from my past life. I wasn't going to let myself get close to anyone or have any relationships with anyone other than family. I was going to isolate myself from society until I graduated high school, which is farther away than it seems.

Today I decided that breaking rules is better than making them. Screw Hargeon and my past life. It doesn't define me. A small smile formed on my lips.

"Thank you."

And I accepted their compliments.

It was three AM, and a mysterious tapping noise had woken me from my rest. In reality, I was having a hard time sleeping anyway, but the tapping noise made the sleep deprivation less bearable. I ripped my black bed sheets off of me and slowly got to my feet.

 _Tap Tap Tap_

It sounded as if it was coming from my bathroom, and I assumed it was the faucet dripping from my careless self not fully turning the nozzle after a shower. I slipped on a pair of hamburger slippers that I, shockingly, stole from Jellal's closet. My floors were wooden and cold, and the bathroom floor was tile and even colder, so I felt the need to wear slippers more than ever. I quietly made my way to the bathroom door and slowly opened the door. I checked the sink and the bath, and no drips were found.

 _Tap Tap Tap_

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. I looked to the window, which had pink curtains covering it, and ripped the curtains to reveal a shadowy figure standing carefully on the roof outside of the window. Instinctively, I turned to flick on the lights and run for Jellal and Erza to call 911. Then when my eyes focused on the figure with great balance and climbing abilities. It was someone I _recognized_.

I opened the window and let them in. "What the _actual fuck_ Gray?!" I whisper yelled. I sat myself on the tiled flooring of the bathroom to let myself calm down. My heart raced with fear, as I thought Gray had been an intruder. I was lucky, however, because I'd rather have Gray Fullbuster than a robber come through my window any day.

"Shit, sorry I didn't mean to startle you. Instagram said you were last online five minutes ago, so I knew you were awake." He apologised instantaneously and went to join me on the bathroom floor. Social media had failed me once again. I took a minute to calm my nerves and start to relax.

"It's okay, just let me know before -" I went to meet his eyes and noticed a busted lip and some bruising around his right eye. "- holy shit, Gray what happened?" He let me lift my hand to touch it, and he winced in pain.

"I'm fine, it's fine, everything's fine." He tried to brush it off as nothing.

I looked to him flabbergasted. "It is _not_ fine, Gray. Who did this?"

He paused and closed his eyes to think. Was he going to tell the truth? Or tell a lie that, knowing myself, I would find out as false later? I trusted Gray a bit more than the others, and seeing him beat up worried me. "You have to promise not to interrupt me. I _trust_ you to not flip out, or tell anyone else. The only other person who knows is Loke, and that's only because I knew it wouldn't freak out and go crazy when I tell them." My stomach did a frontflip. He _trusts_ me, and I obviously trust him back.

"I promise." I held out my pinky for a pinky promise.

He sucked in a shaky breath. "Lyon has this… _Problem_. It typically occurs when my older sister, Ultear, is working the late shifts at the Magnolia Health Center. It started his junior year when he was invited to a senior party and someone handed him a nice, cool beer." He paused and looked up to meet my eyes. "That was the day Lyon's innocence was stripped away and he learned how to drink away his troubles and problems. I try to stop him, but he gets super pissy while intoxicated, and starts to fight me. I let him win, because if he was sober, he wouldn't come close to getting a hit in.".

"He beats you?" I question once I can tell Gray is done explaining.

"I guess? I hit him back and leave him a few bruises as payback." Gray laughed awkwardly and brushed some raven hair out of his face. I noticed some small scars above his eyes and trace them with my index finger.

"You have scars, Gray." I whispered sadly. He politely took my hand from his face and lowered it to my lap. Gray shut his eyes miserably and ran a hand through his mess of raven hair again.

"There's really nothing I can do. I try to stop him but he doesn't listen."

We sat in silence for a couple of minutes on the bathroom floor. I think we were enjoying each other's presence and the lack of noise. None of us wanted to speak up and shatter the stillness in the air.

It was bound to happen eventually, however. "Why did you come here? I know the gist, to escape Lyon and stuff, but why to _my_ house? You barely know me."

He sucked in, and a small smile formed on his face. "Because, out of all of us, you're the most innocent."

"But I'm not, I have a past, like everyone else does." I quickly say, hoping to skip past the _backstory_ bit before being questioned. It's crazy to think that at this very moment, I am living my past. As minutes go by, everyone's backstory is being made, and people are being shaped as time goes on.

"Exactly, Juvia, _everyone has a past._ I told you mine, I know you don't want to tell me yours. You're curious, you want to know how last summer differed from the current, you want to know what changed in everybody to dislike the people we dislike. You're inclined to solve this mystery of Lisanna. I don't _want_ you to hate Lisanna, simply because she hasn't done anything to you yet. You probably don't even expect to last the summer in Magnolia-" I cut him off.

"I'm in Magnolia until they tell me I can leave, and that might not happen at all."

Gray paused, and anxiously pulled me into a nice, warm, bone-crushing hug. His hair smelled of french vanilla shampoo and broken dreams. I don't remember being hugged this tight since the _incident_ happened, and Gray's hug felt tender. My mom's felt forced, like she was obligated to hug me. When we finally broke apart, he followed me to my bed. I wrapped myself around my blanket and leaned against the wall. He sat in the corner where the walls meet.

"So we have to get Natsu and Lucy together ASAP. I can't take the sexual tension." Gray spoke up with a chuckle.

A smile broke out onto the face. "Tell Natsu to go to Lucy's work place and watch out for Codename: Shadow." I giggled into my comforter. My eyes were drooping, and I was using all of my energy just to keep them open.

"What the fuck?"

Sleep deprivation and depressing flashbacks lead to nose diving toward the bed I was sitting on, and letting out a muffled groan. I was so tired that I didn't care that Gray was still in my room, I didn't feel like answering and explaining that I also didn't know who the fuck Codename: Shadow was, and I didn't even close my bathroom window. I feel small pats on my head.

"Goodnight, Juvia."

 **A/N**

 **This chapter is all over the place, but I'm glad I finished it. Every character is basically OOC but OH WHALE. It's also the shortest chapter so far, which is annoying, but again OH WHALE I've stopped caring. School is ending so I might be able to post more no promises. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh (Me screaming)**

 **Also all of the backstories only like half fit the character, but some make sense? ehh?**

 **~ abby (the author it me)**


	4. 4 summer love

_Nightmares cloud my mind with shouts and chants of key words I can't seem to fit together. If only I knew before, if only she told me why it happened, if only she didn't fill my mind with guilty hatred. Hatred towards him, simply because she said that he wronged me. Never loved me. Clouds of nightmares are the sea of electrons in my mind, and they won't slow down._

* * *

There was a vibration in my sheets. It startled me awake at six AM, jolted me from my deep unwanted sleep. I was confused, because my phone was on my dresser, until I saw Gray with his eyes closed, leaning against the wall where I last saw him. He was asleep, obviously, and his phone was ringing. I quickly rubbed my eyes and started nudging his shoulder with my foot.

"Gray…"

He eventually stirred awake. "Wha…." Gray took in his surroundings, now remembering the events from three hours prior.

"Your phone is ringing."

He shuffled around the blankets and sheets until he found his phone and cursed to himself before calling the number back. "Ultear, you called?". I could hear a woman shouting from the other line, and Gray started to tense up from being yelled at. He let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, sorry I fell asleep at Flame brain's house on accident again. I can walk home now if you want…"

Gray looked at me longingly. _He didn't want to go home._

After a minute of waiting, he nodded and started to get up from the bed. "Ok, Ultear, I'm on my way." and he hung up the phone.

"So are you going home?" I asked, as if it wasn't already obvious.

"Yeah, Ultear's crying. She's thinking that I ran away again."

I had so many questions that have yet to answer themselves. "Will we hang out tomorrow- I mean today?"

Gray shrugged his shoulders as he slipped his shirt back on. "I'm not sure." He made his way back to the bathroom from where he came. "Bye, Juvia."

"Bye, Gray."

And he disappeared into the night.

* * *

For the second morning in a row, Erza was waiting for me on her sofa, this time alone. I descended the staircase with fear evident in my eyes and slowly made my way towards her on the couch. "Good morning, Erza…" I said awkwardly, and go about my morning routine as usual: coffee, then lounge about until someone comes knocking on my door. Something usually happens.

"Your mother's court date has been set."

I nearly spilled my coffee on my lap. My breath became shaky and uneven. "What?"

She pushed a piece of her scarlet hair behind her ear and gulped. "She's pleading innocent-"

"Of course she is-"

"They want you to speak as a witness."

I took a long sip of my coffee, memories of my mother flooding back to me just like the tidal waves that nearly swallowed me. "She wants me to make her sound innocent, when it's an obviously guilty case? What's the point of trying if I'm just going to make a fool of myself?" I whispered to myself into my cup.

Erza fiddled with the hem of her dress and took a nervous breath. "Because you love her-"

"She never loved me, Erza. She gave me the basic necessities but she never _cared_ for me, like a mother should. You're a great mother, the best one I've seen, and all my mom did was feed me. Take me to school. Buy me things." Tears were slowly falling from my eyes before I could register, and I took another sip of my coffee. She smiled at the compliment, and stretched out her hand, a sign of comfort coming from a person like Erza. I took her hand and squeezed it, and acceptance, and the wiped my eyes.

"You don't have to speak if you don't want to."

"I'm not sure, she wants me to, and she's never really wanted much out of me before." I mustered a grin and let go of her hand. It was then that I realized that I loved Erza more than _just_ my cousin's wife. She was motherly.

* * *

The library was a desolate place during the long summers, where kids would rather get sunburned from the heat than go inside and read good pieces of literature. I hid behind a shelf, my hair in a loose braid, wearing a simple tank and denim shorts with high tops. The memory from this morning was long gone, as now my mind was focused on the idiotic pink-haired boy wearing a scaly scarf who was _also_ hiding behind a shelf next to me. He was peering through the gaps in the books, glaring at the blonde reading at one of the tables in the adult mystery section.

"Why are we here again?" Loke inquired from where he stood, closer to the edge of the shelves.

"Scientific reasons." Natsu replied, not moving his eyes.

Loke rolled his eyes. "If you want to go hang out with Lucy, then go talk to her instead of stalking her."

"Yeah, and I told you that Codename: Shadow worked at the _bookstore_ with her, and we're at the library." I whispered.

Natsu let out a low grunt. "That doesn't mean that he won't be here."

"It kind of does, Natsu." Loke laughed quietly.

I shrugged. "You never know, maybe they like to read as much as her and Levy do."

"Listen, Natsu, you want to hang with Lucy and get her to like you back right?" Loke spoke, moving closer to Natsu and I.

"Uh, duh, that's why we're here." He said sarcastically. A librarian with a high bun and glasses perched down to the tip of her nose stopped at our shelf, and the three of us quickly pretended to be reading the back of books and carefully putting them back. As soon as she left, we went back to our previous positions.

"Then take something she likes doing, and do that thing together."

"But I _hate_ reading, Loke!" Natsu whisper yelled.

Loke grabbed Natsu by the shoulder, clearly frustrated. "Just go out there man, and _talk to her_. She's your best friend, stop acting afraid of her." He whispered harshly towards Natsu, then politely shoved Natsu into the isle between shelving units. Lucy looked up from her book and faced the direction of the obvious commotion created by Loke and Natsu. She smiled brightly and waved for Natsu to come over to her and sit down.

The news that Natsu was infatuated, or even in _love_ with Lucy, quickly spread through to the rest of the group, meaning Loke and Levy. They were wary not to have Lucy find out, because her and Natsu were inseparable, and if she knew, there was a chance that might change. Levy wanted to help with Project Nalu, as we call it, but she was afraid to abandon helping her with Codename: Shadow. Loke was almost _too_ eager to help, as he deemed himself as a womanizer, and felt that he could finish Project Nalu faster than Cana, Gray, and I could.

So when Natsu asked Lucy to hang out, and she told him that she was currently at the Magnolia Library, Loke picked me up in his truck and we arrived at the same time as Natsu. Loke pushed his frames up his nose and smirked. "And now all we do is wait."

I really didn't see the point of waiting, mostly because I was hungry and waiting in a library for something that was more likely to happen anywhere else was less desirable. "I think Natsu can handle it from here, Loke."

"Whatever you say, Juvia, at least they're talking."

I shrugged. "True." then a brilliant idea popped into my head. "What if we went to the bookstore and scoped out Natsu's competition?"

Loke's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "That's genius!" he yelled in a whisper, grabbed me by the wrist, and quickly made our way out of the desolate and quiet environment.

* * *

The bookstore in which they worked was two stories tall and seemingly run down, but kept in a somewhat good condition. The shelves were packed tightly together and were as high as the ceiling. The floors were cement, with a few welcome mats scattered in front of a few shelves. There were occasional seating areas for people to sit and read, or possibly take a rest? It was a _used_ bookstore, and I guessed that most of their customers were old people. The checkout station was tucked into the front corner right by the entrance.

Loke and I wanted to quietly walk into the bookstore, which was named _Magnolia Common Used Bookstore_ , and secretly spy on Codename: Shadow without a single person knowing. Unfortunately, a cute little bell chimed as soon as we opened the door. "Welcome to _Magnolia Common_ , how may I help you?"

We slowly turned to our right to face a quite handsome young man behind the counter. He had overgrown black hair that covered half of his face, and a strangely red eye. His button-down work shirt fit to his form tight, and so did his pants…

"We're just looking, thank you." Loke says to him and leads me to two walls of bookshelves, deserted.

"Loke, that has to be him." I say immediately. I mean, it makes sense. The hair covering his eye was ominous enough, and Lucy seems like the kind of girl to go after a guy with _that_ type of form…

"Interesting, he seems to be the total opposite of Natsu."

"I know, Natsu's a dead man."

Loke waved his hand. "Nah, we just need to make this Shadow guy less appealing to Lucy." Suddenly we heard shuffling a few shelves down, and Loke covers my mouth.

We peek through the books to see Levy on the book ladder, putting books onto the top shelf. She was accompanied by a man who seemed twice her size, with a long dark ponytail and _multiple_ piercings. _Lnt. Blacksteel._ He had a stack of books in his hands and a large grin on his face. "You know, Shrimp, I could've done these myself-"

"But I am perfectly capable of helping you, Redfox." Levy grabbed a book from the top of his stack and proceeded to put it on the shelf. "I needed the work anyway. It's not like we have customers.' Levy smiled back at the burly man and grabbed another book.

The bell for the door chimed again, meaning another customer came inside. "Rogue, my man!"

"Sting what did I tell you about being loud when you come to visit me? Where's Yukino?" Codename: Shadow, who we just got a name for, scolded the other boy in a hushed voice.

The new voice let out a sigh. "'Don't be annoying'." he quoted in monotone. "It's summer! You're here literally everyday. And she got stuck with Minerva duty. _Yeesh_." I felt the shiver going down the new boy's spine in my soul. I suddenly wanted to meet them.

I went to go introduce myself when Loke stopped me. "They're _Sabertooth_ assholes."

"And that means? You're such a hardass, you've probably never gotten to know them."

Loke forced an eye roll. "I'm leaving, go to the cafe when you're done." I didn't understand the unneeded tension, and concluded that maybe Loke was overreacting. With him gone, however, it left me with a couple of seconds of alone time to look for a book I might actually need. I went to the other side of the bookshelf and walked up to Levy and Redfox.

"Hey, Levy." She shrieked and nearly fell of the ladder, but stabled herself onto Redfox.

"Jesus, Juvia, when did you get here?"

"I've been here for like five minutes, but I can't find this one book. Can you help?" I asked nervously, hoping she wouldn't judge me.

"Of course I can! What's the book?" She jumped from the ladder to stand short of me.

"Anything about law and court and that type of stuff?"

"That would be in nonfiction, and I think we have a section for it. A lot of law school dropouts donate their old textbooks here. Do you want to be a lawyer once we're out of highschool?" Levy inquired as she led me through the shelves.

"Y-yeah, I just want to get a feel of the subjects."

"I didn't peg you as an early starter, but I'm not judging. I'm bilingual just by studying languages for fun." The petite girl laughed and stopped at the end of some shelves. "This is the place. Remember that all soft covers are one dollar plus tax, and hard covers are two. If they have a green sticker, it's half off the price I just gave you. Come back to me if you need any more help."

"Levy, you're a lifesaver."

"It's my job." she smiled and went back to Redfox. I scanned the shelf in the _Law_ section until I found the book I was most ashamed of thinking of buying.

 _How To Speak In Court_ by Jura Neekis.

My heart was suddenly beating fast as I quickly took it off of the shelf and made my way to the counter, where Rogue and new person were steadily talking. The new person has blonde spikey hair and wore a form fitting tee that was covered in cats. They were laughing about something I wasn't aware of when I placed the book on the counter. " _Who_ are you?" the blonde asked in a joking tone.

"Juvia. And you?" I spoke. They seemed nice, so I wasn't going to ignore them because of Loke's poor judgement.

"I'm Sting and that's Rogue. We got to Sabertooth High." He held out his hand gingerly, and I shook it politely. "Where do you go to school?"

"I'm here for the summer, but I'm originally from Hargeon Port." I wasn't going to tell them that I might be here for longer than the length of the summer, because it was confidential to only me and Jellal and Erza.

"Hargeon is a sad town." Sting looked off into the distance dramatically.

I stifled a laugh. "No kidding."

"That will be $1.08." Rogue interrupted with the book I had just purchased in a plastic bag with the store's logo on the front.

"Magnolia seems to be a happier place. It's a great place during the spring; the leaves turn all those beautiful colors…" Part of me wished to stay in Magnolia for the rest of my high school career, but another part of me knew there was a chance that couldn't happen. My mother was pleading innocent, and if I spoke for her innocence, I would have to get back on the train to Hargeon Port where my past started and ended. I so desperately wanted to see the colors of the leaves in Spring, and I wanted to go to school with all of my new friends. They were nicer, happier than my aquaintences in Hargeon.

"I'll have to come back for spring break, then." I say with kindness and pay Rogue for the book.

"Call me for when that happens, then, Juvia." Sting quickly wrote his number on a sticky note that was on the counter and stuck it to my bag. "Because I like your spunk."

"Um, okay? Bye, I guess." I left the store after receiving a hug from Sting, which continued to confuse me on his character. Spunk? What does that even mean?

I walked down the streets of Magnolia in search for the cafe, and I assumed Loke meant Celestials and Coffee, the cafe he was currently employed at. I remembered the _Earthbound_ across the street, and the planetarium that it was connected to. Once I reached the cafe, I stopped in my tracks and watched Loke talk with the girl with curly pink hair from the last time I was here.

He laughed at every word the timid girl said, and her cheeks turned the color of her hair when we spoke. He was drinking a blue tinted drink, and smiled with the straw between his teeth. "We should hang out outside of work, Aries. There's a world for us to see!"

"I don't know, where would we go?" Her smile was unmoving.

"We could go to the beach, make sandcastles, or just drive for hours until I run out of gas. We could go lay out at South Gate Park and look up at the stars until we fall asleep. There's endless possibilities for us to take up, just the two of us!"

Aries closed her eyes, most likely picturing all of the ideas he just threw to her. "I've never made a sandcastle before…"

"So it's happening?" She nodded slightly and took his blue tinted drink to have a sip. "Yes! I'm so excited." He grabbed another straw and poked it through the hole for her to have some of his drink too. She took the new straw and started sipping at the same time as him, and I couldn't help but stare.

 _It was the cutest thing I've ever been able to watch._

I really didn't want to interrupt, but he was my ride home… I tried to think of some other people I knew with cars, and I only knew of Loke and Natsu. I knew for sure that Cana didn't have one, but I don't think anyone would trust her behind the wheel anyway. Lucy, Natsu, Levy, and Loke were out of the question, because they were all busy. Project Nalu was currently in action, Levy was flirting with Lnt. Blacksteel, and Loke and Aries were hitting it off extremely well. That only left…. Gray.

I took out my phone and dialled his number.

" _Hello?"_

"Do you have a car by chance?"

" _No, but Lyon does. Why?"_

"Because I need a ride home."

I heard a heavy sigh from the other side. " _I gotta steal his keys, so it might be a sec. Where are you?"_

"Celestials and Coffee, it's connected to the planetarium. Thank you so much."

" _Eh, it's nothing."_ And he hung up.

* * *

After fifteen minutes of waiting outside on the curb and a quick stop inside to order a drink and tell Loke that Gray was picking me up, Gray finally showed up in a silver minivan. He leaned over to open the door for me. "Get in the car, loser."

"Says the one driving a minivan."

He jokingly clutched his chest. "Wow, that hurt."

His hair was a mess and his shirt was the same form the night prior. "Did I wake you up?"

"Yeah, but I needed to wake up anyway. I never take three hour naps." He started to drive.

"So was Ultear mad about last night?" I knew I shouldn't have mentioned last night, but I really wanted to.

"At first, but I hung out with her until she went to bed and made up for it. I didn't mean to fall asleep at your place."

I chuckled. "Good thing you left early, though. I don't want to see Erza's face if she finds you in my bed. Now that would be scary."

He shivered. "Oh god, what a nightmare."

"But you're welcome to climb through my window anytime. I could use the company."

He laughed. "I might have to take you up on that offer. Speaking of company, who has Loke's?"

"His coworker Aries. I am pretty sure he asked her out on a date and it was really cute. Also Project Nalu is hanging out at the library, and Levy is with someone of her interest."

"Ooo sounds like girly stuff."

"It's just summer love, Fullbuster."

"So what's with the book?"

I looked down to the bag in my lap. He had given me a part of his past last night. It was only fair I gave him a piece of mine, too. "My mom's in court, and i have to speak for her."

"What for? Drinking while intoxicated?" He questioned carefully, going over speedbumps at a slow pace.

"Murdering my dad three years ago." He hit the brakes hard. Luckily we were in the middle of an empty road, no cars coming from either direction.

"Come again?"

"Ehh… park the car and I'll tell you everything. I trust you Gray, it's only fair you know the reason why I'm in Magnolia."

I tried to make it casual, like something that happens on the daily. _Murder._ Regret was filling my empty heart as he parked his minivan in an insurance building parking lot.

"I trust you, too, Juvia. Tell me as much as you feel comfortable."

I took a deep breath, my nerves shaking with fear. Will he judge me for my mother's actions from years prior? I really didn't want him to. I'm not my mom. I am Juvia Loxar.

"So my parents had a one night stand their last year of college. They graduated, and my mother didn't tell my dad that she was pregnant until she was eight months along with me. She planned on raising me on her own or giving me up for adoption, but my dad wanted to be a part of my life. He was so excited for my existence. They married right before I was born." I paused, because the climax of the tale was next. I had to prepare myself for what happened next, because I was afraid I was going to accidentally live through it.

"A few days after my thirteenth birthday, my dad disappeared. My mother told me that he ran away with a coworker to have a better family than the one he had. I lived the next three years hating him, because after thirteen years of loving he _left_. I never got letters for my birthday, no money for Christmas. _Nothing._

"Then this past March, they found a body at the bottom of the river at Hargeon Port. It was my dad, and they dated his time of death to three years prior; when my mom told me that he abandoned us. Suddenly the pieces added up for me and for the police. My dad used to keep his phone in a ziploc bag incase it started to rain, and he never wanted his phone to break. His phone was in mint condition in his pocket, and it was covered in my mom's DNA. They arrested her almost instantly. Now she's pleading innocent in court and wants her daughter that she never loved to support her in some way."

Gray's mouth was stuck ajar in awe. I didn't register that I was now crying until tears fell to my shirt. I was a lot to take in, I understood that, but I wished he would just say _something_. Anything to take away the tension.

Then for the second time in less than 24 hours, he reached over to the passenger seat and gave me a bone-crushing hug. I wrapped my arms around him and started to cry into his shoulder, the tears unable to stop.

After a few moments, I let go of him and wiped my eyes with my shirt. "Do you think she's innocent?" he asked quietly, our eyes making intense eye contact.

It took me a second before coming up with an answer. "No, I don't. If she's proven innocent, then I have to go back to Hargeon."

"Then go with your gut. You're strong, you can do what you think is right. If you think your mom is bad, then send her to jail and stay with Erza. If you think she should be let go, then prove to the judge that she's innocent."

I forced a laugh. "You make it sound so simple."

"Because maybe the simplest of questions are the hardest to answer."

With that he started to drive again and took me home. The ride to my house was silent, but I was just happy that he didn't think I was a murderer too. It's what the kids at Phantom did. Gray looked past my past and saw me for me. I was so lucky to have a friend like Gray.

He was better than everyone in Hargeon Port combined.

* * *

 **a/n**

 **ahhh you finally get Juvia's past, which I've been brewing up since i startd this fic. Like I said, super OOC. Also this chapter is all over the place. I'm tempted to make a playlist for this fic (like some people do on wattpad) so tell me if you'd like that? Also tell me how this chapter is bc all of your nice reviews give me motivation to write more! Most works I do don't get past chapter three, and I'm onto chapter five with this one! That means it has a special place in my heart!**

 **Hugs to everyone!**

 **\- abby**


	5. 5 pizza slices

**Hey I decided to do a top author's note for once! wicked. I celebrated two birthdays this week, America's and my own the very next day (July 4th and 5th). I turned seventeen, and now I can watch rated R movies. It's pretty weird. I'm shocked at how fast I pumped this chapter out, and tbh it's not the greatest, but I wanted to complete it before I started my summer reading assignments and studying for the ACT. I'm going to be a senior in high school, which is also hella weird. School starts in like a month though so I might be able to pump out another chapter before then.**

 **About the playlist idea from last chapter, I might wait until I finish the fic. Or should I do part of a playlist, like a song for each chapter, and then every time I post a new chapter there's like a song from the playlist that represents the chapter? You guys tell me.**

 **Every review like fuels my motivation to write more, because I've now committed myself to this fanfiction. Sometimes I have ideas and abandon them almost immediately, but the only ideas for the past month have been for this fanfiction. It makes me so happy that people are finding this interesting and fun to read. This story is my baby, I swear.**

 **I'm afraid that I shared the main part of Juvia's backstory too early, but I have no regrets, because Gray's is pretty interesting. You will never suspect a thing. ahhh I'm excited to get to that part but there's so much more than meets the eye.**

 **Please like and review and share this chapter and this story! I flippin love all of you!**

 **~ Abby (le author)**

 _Prison cells seem cold. They are like a dog cage for humans, a place for them to sleep in isolation. I think my mother would fit in well in prison, because all she did was isolate herself from the world anyway. There was no love, no remorse. The only feeling behind her eyes was vengeance._

* * *

Over the course of the next week, Gray snuck into my window every single night. At first it felt like he was pitying me, after he heard my sob story about my mom and blah blah blah. But then we started watching movies on his laptop until we both fell asleep, talking about some of our wackiest dreams, and trying to make each other laugh. He would talk about growing up with Natsu and Cana, and how crazy they can get if intoxicated, though Cana played it off cool. Gray didn't drink personally, because he saw what it could do to a person firsthand.

He genuinely didn't want to be home. Gray was at my house constantly. If he leaves back through the window at 4 am, he was back at 2 pm with McDonalds fries and soda. Gray was now my best friend, closer than anyone in Hargeon even tried to get to me. The people in Hargeon didn't care for me like Gray does. He makes me feel pure joy.

Lisanna was now at the back of my mind. I didn't care for the past much, because everyone has a past. If the group wants to tell me, they can. I'm not going to ask. I had only met her once, and once was enough.

It was Monday night, and Gray laid in my bed with his computer on his chest. "What movie is for tonight?"

"What about _Mama Mia_?"

"Never seen it." He replied bluntly. I gasped.

"You've _never seen it_?"

"What is it, some girly movie?"

I open my mouth in awe. "It's not just _some girly movie_. It's the greatest production ever created."

"Is that so?"

"Uh, duh. If I like it, it has to be good." I grabbed the bowl of popcorn and snuggled up right next to him as he logged into Netflix.

"I don't know how I feel about musicals, Juvs…" he said as he read the summary.

"Well, we watched a Tom Cruise movie last night, so we're watching this." I pressed play and started to watch the movie.

* * *

 _I have a dream_

"So she doesn't know who her dad is, after all that?" Gray grunts angrily into the empty bowl of popcorn kernels.

"In a way she does. All three want to be a father figure, and one becomes her step-dad in the end, so it works out."

 _A song to sing_

"Lame."

 _To help me cope with anything_

"I think it's beautiful."

"If you say so. I see the beauty, but like come on, it has to be Bill-"

 _If you see the wonder of a fairy tale_

"But where does she get her drawing talent? It's gotta be Sam-"

 _You can take the future even if you fail_

Suddenly Gray and I were theorizing the plot of Mamma Mia from beginning to end on who the father of Sophia could be, both of us defending our cases with proof.

 _I believe in angels, something good in everything thing I see_

Gray shut his laptop with anger, "I better go before Ultear gets home from the night shift."

"So soon?" I ask, mostly because I was comfortable in his shoulder.

"Juvs, it's three AM. I'll see you today anyway."

He got up, forcing me to get up with him.

 _I believe in angels, when I know the time is right for me_

I led him to the window, where he carefully placed his laptop on the ground and gave me a tight hug. "Sleep tight, Juvia."

"Don't fall out of the tree, Gray."

And he disappeared into the night, once again.

 _Across the stream, I have a dream_

* * *

I am starting to think that I truly hated going to the Magnolia Mall. Yes, it was nice and full of grandeur, but I am not the one to enjoy a shopping trip. I prefer meandering around stores aimlessly, but sometimes I actually have to buy something eventually. Today I only brought enough money for food and a drink, because part of me knew that I wasn't going to want to buy anything. Plus, I was with Cana and Natsu, who had two completely different tastes in clothing.

Cana wore a cropped tank top that showed off her lady business in a flattering way, high-waisted denim shorts, and a pair of worn birkenstocks. She sifted through the clearance rack of Forever 21 methodically, occasionally lifting a shirt to see the rest of it, and shoving it back on the shelf. Natsu, on the other hand, wore a pair of ripped black jeans, Vans, and an ACDC tank, not to forget his white checkered scarf. He stood off to the side with his arms crossed an annoyed look plastered on his face.

"Are you done yet?"

"God, Natsu, give me like five more minutes. _Then_ we can go into Hot Topic and see if they have the Rick and Morty pins you wanted." Cana groaned from the rack.

"You've been in that section for ten minutes now."

Cana forcefully rolled her eyes. "Whatever, at least I'll be cute."

"How long have you guys known each other?" I peeped from where I stood next to Natsu. I was wearing a random tee and athletic shorts and my beaten high tops, my hair in a frizzy side braid.

"My dad didn't know I existed til like six years ago when my mom died. He'd known Natsu since Natsu was a kid, so it wasn't hard for us to get along."

"Gildarts was the one who taught me to read. Pretty sick."

Cana showed a toothy smile when thinking about her dad. "He's a geography teacher at Fairy Tail Academy, so he has summers off. You should spend the night and meet him."

"Like a sleepover?" I questioned. I don't think I have ever been invited to one, and excitement bubbled in the pit of my stomach.

Cana shrugged and walked away from the rack with nothing in her hands but her phone. "I don't see why not. We can play cards and it'll be fun. Natsu, you in?"

"Do you even have to ask anymore?" He laughed.

"Good point. Anyway, Natsu I'm done looking. This store is just getting less satisfying to look through the more I go to it." a disappointed sigh left her lips.

We walked through the exit and continued to tread through the mall. It was fairly busy for a Tuesday afternoon, the people of Magnolia bustled around us like hoards of flies. There were many mid-summer sales going on at the moment, and I guess they wanted to act out on those deals.

Cana was mid laugh when she stopped laughing and walking all together. Natsu had ceased as well, causing me to stumble into his side. I was about to ask what was up or what was happening, but that question got answered on its own.

"No way, it's _pink freak_ and that alcoholic friend." a woman snarled from in front of us. I looked up from my feet to meet the stone cold eyes of an older woman with glasses. She wore a green sundress that revealed too much to be desired, her hair in a bun at the nape of her neck. There were three others with her, a man with long green hair that covered his right eye, another man who seemed to be dressed in a costume but suited him well, and…

My breath hitched. It was _Lisanna_.

She kept close to the costumed man, and now looking at his clothing I'm now realizing that it's not a costume. His outfit was just so tacky it didn't look planned. She hid behind one of his arms, her fingers intertwined with his. If my memory proved me right, his name was Bixlow. They were-

"The Thunder Legion." Natsu spoke in a low whisper.

I sensed the tension rising in the air as there was a staring contest between Natsu, Cana, and the Thunder Legion.

The woman let out a venomous laugh. "I see you've got a new recruit. The name is Evergreen," she let out a white gloved hand. I took it lightly, not really sure what to do. "I would say that it's a pleasure to meet you, but is it really?"

"Evergreen, don't be so harsh." The green haired man reprimanded with a scoff. He seemed polite, just maybe got stuck in the wrong crowd.

She chuckled. "Oh, Freed, being harsh is my specialty." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "What's your name, blue?" Evergreen was speaking directly to me, and fear rumbled in my stomach.

"J-juvia." A stutter? When do I ever stutter?

A laugh escaped her lips, and she covered her mouth with her fingers with elegance. "I see they took you in, as per usual."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cana spoke up, stepping forward in anger. Her hands were balled into fists, knuckles turning white.

"It _means_ that your group takes in every new kid in Magnolia, Alberona." Evergreen spoke low and careful, taking slow high-heeled steps toward Cana. "It's just a warning to your new _gal pal_. You took in Lisanna, and you left her on the curb for the cars to splash her with puddle water."

"Is that _really_ the story you were told? Are you sure we're talking about the same incident?" Cana spit with poison dripping from her words.

"I think I trust the victim of the situation." The two girls were less than a foot apart.

Cana then started to giggle with anger in her eyes, revenge in her laughs. "Babe, I think you're mistaken."

"Pardon?" a smile danced on Evergreen's lips.

"She's not the victim, for she started this mess in the first place. Instead of owning up to her mistakes, she ran away." Cana chose her words with caution.

"Ever, maybe you should back off-" the blue haired man that Lisanna was hiding behind stepped in. His face tattoo startled my insides and gave me chills.

"Shut it, Bixlow, I've got this." she held up her hand, keeping Bixlow from stepping in between her and Cana.

"Can we just go get what we came here for? Laxus wanted us to go pick up the bridesmaids dresses." Freed spoke up, finally switching the topic at hand.

"Why do you hang out with them, Juvia?" Evergreen was now speaking directly to me, ignoring the glowering Cana less than a foot away from her.

I didn't hesitate to answer. "Because I like them? Why do they hang with you when all you do is cause drama?" _Oooh Juvia, saucy answer._ Evergreen didn't move her ground, but her eyes indicated that she was taken aback at my statement. "I hang out with my _friends_ because they treat me like a person, not a topic of gossip. No offense, Cana, and total offense to you, Evergreen, but Lisanna is literally right in front of us as you talk about her. I may not know what happened to make everyone hate each other, but not a single person deserves to be talked crudely about in front of, even if she did something so terrible." I moved to stand between the two girls, and Cana finally let go of her tension.

"Juvia's right, we have to treat people the way we want to be treated." Cana spoke with understanding, her guard coming down.

Evergreen just rolled her stone cold eyes and turned away, walking back to Freed, Bixlow, and Lisanna. Lisanna looked sad, as if she'd gone through enough during the past year. She didn't deserve this, nobody did.

"So, Cana, are you and Gildarts coming to the wedding?" Freed questioned with excitement in his voice.

Cana surfaced a smile. "Of course, wouldn't miss it for my life."

"Then we'll see you then." The group started to walk away slowly. I noticed Natsu had been silent during the entire conversation, which I felt was strange. He was stuck in place, a sullen look plastered on his face. His onyx eyes were stuck in one position, which I followed with my own. _Lisanna_. Natsu was staring at Lisanna, and the two had matching faces as the group made their way past us to the other side of the mall.

Cana noticed this too. "You okay, Natsu?" she sounded concerned.

"Let's just leave." He mumbled under his breath in a mix of anger and sadness.

"What about the Rick and Morty pins?"

"Fuck them." he growled and turned his body toward the food court. Suddenly some of the confusion clouding my brain formed an incoherent path in my mind. Lisanna was not the victim of the situation, _Natsu was_.

I stayed silent as Cana and I ran to catch up with him. "Hey," Cana caught up and touched his back empathetically, "Let me buy you some fries, and you can sit and cool off, okay?" Natsu nodded shyly at her offer, and I followed him to an empty table. I sat across from him, and he laid his messy mop of pink hair onto the table with frustration.

I felt awkward, because I was too unaware of the situation to do anything about it. I wanted to make Natsu feel better, I just didn't know how. Cana eventually came back with a basket of fries and loads of packets of ketchup. Natsu lifted his head and ate the fries one by one. Nobody said anything to diffuse the tension, and we all just sat in uncomfortable silence while Natsu ate.

"Thanks, Cana." Natsu whispered when he was close to finishing the basket of fries. She gave a weak smile.

"Anything for my brother from another mother." She then whipped out her phone and started texting someone. "So my dad said it was okay if you guys wanted to spend the night. You just have to ask Erza and Jellal."

Jellal would definitely say yes, he was so lenient with every small detail, but Erza might be a different challenge. "Let me call them," I took out the phone that Jellal gave me from the kindness of his heart and dialled Erza's number.

" _Hella, Juvia? Is everything okay?"_

"Yeah, I was just wondering if I could spend the night at Cana's house tonight?"

" _Is anyone else going to be spending the night with you?"_

"Uh… Natsu…"

" _Natsu, huh? I'm not sure how I feel about that-"_

Jellal interrupted Erza from the other side. " _Natsu can't get any even if he tried-"_

"Hey I heard that!" Natsu whined, his previous attitude having already passed.

" _Jellal, hush it! Juvia, Jellal doesn't care, and he's probably right about Natsu anyway-"_ "Hey!" " _\- so you can do it. I trust you enough to not get in any trouble, and I know Gildarts fairly well."_

"Really? Sweet! I'll text you later then." I hung up.

"So I'm assuming that's a yes?" Cana inquired, stealing one of Natsu's fries. I nodded with excitement, because I had never been invited to a sleepover before. This was a new to me, so what do I even bring? Do I overpack or underpack? Do I need to bring a pillow and blanket, or will Cana let me borrow that too?

The girls in Hargeon refused to talk to me because I was _gloomy_. They claimed that rain followed me everywhere I went, but I'm pretty sure that the steady rain was because of the ocean, not because. Therefore, I was never invited to a slumber party, or any party matter of fact. A smile sat permanent on my face, and I doubt anything was going to take that away.

* * *

Her house won the best front yard award for the entire neighborhood by a landslide. The grass was cut all to the same length, the rose bushes had little to no weeds, and seemed to be watered daily. A Fairy Tail Academy sign was stuck into the grass, a proud father and teacher had to live here. It was quaint, a one-story abode with a two-car garage, though the garage seemed like a tight fit. Cana took her keys out of her purse and unlocked the door. "Dad, I'm home!" She yelled once the door was open, and led us to a spacey living room.

A bulky man with shoulder-length red hair sat on the couch, a can of pepsi in one hand, the TV remote in the other. He dropped the remote, and place the can gentiley on the coffee table, and stood once we entered the room. "Cana!" He engulfed her into a bone-crushing hug.

A smile was stuck on Cana's face. "You can't do that everytime I come home, dad." she laughed.

"Are you ready for another rematch, Gildarts?" Natsu held up his fists, but Gildarts only chuckled.

"You gotta stop making me beat you up, Natsu. It'll get me fired one day." He pulled Natsu into a fatherly embrace. "Who are you?" He pointed a bulky index finger my way.

"I'm Juvia. I'm staying with Jellal and Erza for the summer." I shook his hand politely.

"Well, Magnolia's a good town, and I hope you enjoy your stay here." He smiled gingerly. "So what do you runts want for dinner?"

"Can we just order pizza tonight, dad?"

"Anything for you, sweetpea."

* * *

Natsu, Cana, and I hid in her room, which had a bathroom ensuite, and began to devour two whole pizzas. We sat in a circle around the boxes of pizzas on the floor of her bedroom, laughing at something Natsu saw on Ifunny. He picked up his fifth slice and took a bite.

"Let's talk juicy gossip." Cana suddenly said between bites of pepperoni pizza.

"Like what?" I inquired, slowly nibbling on my third slice. I was getting full, and the other two had stomachs of steel.

"Like you and _Gray…_ "

"What about us?" A puzzled look appeared on my face. I wasn't aware about any gossip going on around us, because there was nothing to discuss. We were friends, and yeah we hang out more than any of the others do, and he sneaks into my window to watch movies with me, but that's about it. Unless he told the others about my past? I doubted it, because I trust him to keep my secrets safe.

She smiled mischievously. "You've been inseparable this whole week."

"So? We're friends." I suddenly remembered that I needed to tell Gray not to come over tonight. The worst possible event that could happen with Gray sneaking into my room while I wasn't there is Erza catching him in the act. She would beat the ever living shit out of him, and he would never come back. Who would curse that upon me?

Cana chuckled. "Sure, but when the wedding date gets closer, he'll be needing a date. I'll help you be prepared for that." I cringed.

"You think way too far ahead." I got my phone and opened up my messaging app to send Gray a text.

 _Hey don't come over. Currently at Cana's_

I put my phone down and took another bite of my pizza. "I don't know, I've known Ice Prick since elementary school and he's never been close to a person as he is to you." Natsu shrugged. My phone vibrated. _Lame_

I immediately started to text back, completely disregarding Natsu's comment. _Lmao Cana and Natsu are hella convinced that we're "meant to be" isn't that weird_. I pressed send and suddenly my heart started to hurt. For what I did not know, I just knew I was in mental pain. In the back of my mind I hoped Gray wouldn't agree for some odd reason. We never flirted, or tried to flirt, so why was this making my heart beat faster than usual? Yes, he was the most attractive out of everyone in Magnolia, and he held me close when I told him about my mom, and he sneaks into my window to keep my company and protect himself from his brother… He told me that he trusted me enough to know about Lyon and all of his flaws. My mind was starting to melt into a pile of Gray-fusion that I didn't know how to escape from.

 _Yeah that's pretty weird_

My stomach flipped over. There it was, confirmation that we were simply good buddies who cuddle in secrecy and share secrets about our past together. So why did I feel so empty? Emptier than I was in Hargeon?


	6. (update) (apology)

**Hey buddy pals, it's been a bit.**

 **Before I start, here's an apology preluding the upcoming announcement- sorry fam ;(**

 **I will not be continuing this story, not this specific one anyway. Every time I read it, I get pissed off, because it goes way too fast, there's no character development, and there's still so much more to add, but since I revealed the two protagonist's big secrets by chapter 3 & 4, it's so much harder to complete each chapter. What I want to do, however, is start this tale anew, with a shiny new title and better writing. I'm still debating using third or first person. I want to draw a map of the neighborhood they all live in, because it gets confusing, mostly because it mirrors the neighborhood that I live in. I want to make the chapters longer, at least five thousand words each. I had originally planned for that word count at the start of this one, but failed by chapter two (whoops). I want there to be more games, more fun, with the dark undertone of the mysteries of the Juvia's newfound buddies. **

**When I upload the new version? I have no clue- I'm pegging for the end of this month. When I do, however, I will update you guys one last time on this one with the new title and summary so that you can go read it and enjoy it as you did with this one!**

 **I want to thank you for all of the** nice **comments and favorites, they** literally **got me through writing this version!**

 **I'm so sorry for the inconvenience- but I'm coming back with a better one! I promise!**

 **\- Abigail ( the author wow what a shock)**


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